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The Battle Of Los Angeles
*Entertainment Weekly (A) *NME *Robert Christgau *Rolling Stone *Spin *Sputnik Music |Last album = Evil Empire (1996) |Next album = Renegades (2000) |This album = The Battle Of Los Angeles (1999) |Chronology = Rage Against The Machine Studio album }}The Battle Of Los Angeles is the third studio album by rap-metal band Rage Against The Machine. It was released in 1999 and is, as of now, the latest original album Rage Against The Machine has made. It had three successful singles, "Guerilla Radio", "Sleep Now In The Fire", and "Testify". Track three, "Calm Like A Bomb" was intended to be the fourth single, but was not released, only being played on the radio if the DJ had a copy of the album. The Battle Of Los Angeles was nominated for the Grammy's 1999 "Best Rock Album" award, but lost to There Is Nothing Left To Loose by Foo Fighters. Artwork The cover art shows grafitti of a person rasing his fist with "The Battle Of Los Angeles" written in the middle. Most people think this is a reference to riots that Happended in 1992, however the band said that the reason why they made the cover looked like this is because this is how they felt the music on the album sounded like. Photos in the booklet includes concret walls and barbed-wire fences. In the back of the booklet, there is a list of different websites for the listener to go to. Music and Lyrics Like all the other albums by the band, the music is rap-metal and the lyrics are political. The album's lyrical content was influenced by the book Nighteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, specifically tracks such as "Testify", "Sleep Now In The Fire", and "Voice of the Voiceless". Alot of the songs were also influenced and made during the Mumia Abu-Jamal concert, such as "Mic Check" or "Born As Ghosts". Tracks such as "Maria" or "Born Of A Broken Man" tell stories. "Maria" tells the story of a young woman who moves to a new country, only to die due to who she is, and "Born Of A Broken Man" tells the life of a homeless man. Track listing #Testify #(There Be) No Shelter (Here) #Guerilla Radio #Calm Like A Bomb #Mic Check #Sleep Now In The Fire #Born Of A Broken Man #Born As Ghosts #Maria #Voice Of The Voiceless #New Millennium Homes #Ashes In The Fall #War Within A Breath Bonus Disc/Bonus Tape: "New...Live...Rare" Back when the album was being released, people in the US who pre-ordered the album got a bonus CD which includes the following: #Clear The Lane #Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox In some Australian stores, if you were to pre-order Tha album, you were to get a cassette tape titled "New...Live...Rare". It contains: Side A #Calm Like A Bomb (Live) Side B #Clear The Lane #Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox All tracks on Side B are the same as the tracks from the US Bonus disc. Trivia *The Australian/Japanese bonus track "No Shelter" was originally released as a single in 1998 and was featured in the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack "Godzilla: The Album" Promotion The album had 3 singles. "Guerilla Radio", "Sleep Now In The Fire", and "Testify". "Calm Like A Bomb" was going to be the fourth, but was cancelled. Starting on 1999, the band started "The Battle Of Los Angeles Tour" which lasted between 1999 to 2000. The final show was at the Grand Olympic Auditorium on September 13, 2000, the last show the band did before they split up. That show was filmed and was eventually released as a video album entitled "Live At The Grand Olympic Auditorium" in 2003. Personal *Zach De La Rocha - Vocals *Tim Commerford - Bass (Credited as Y.tim.K or Tim.Com) *Brad Wilk - Drums *Tom Morello - Guitars Category:1999 albums Category:Rock albums